CSU's Roberts goes from unknown to hero

Kicker key in Colorado State's Showdown win

DENVER -- In a week and a half, Jared Roberts has gone from a Colorado State walk-on who earned a scholarship on the last day at camp to a kicker who proved why.

The sophomore out of Mullen High School provided the winning points for the Rams in Saturday's Rocky Mountain Showdown at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, his 48-yarder putting his team in front for good with 6:39 remaining in the game.

While coach Jim McElwain joked it was good the team still had a scholarship left over to give him, Roberts' teammates (he himself is not on the list of players who can be interviewed), said what he did was not out of the ordinary for them.

"(Coach) just calls field goal score team, we run out there, he sets the spot, I catch it, he kicks it," holder M.J. McPeek said.

Easy as that.

Maybe not. It was Roberts' first collegiate game, and his first big moment was a 47-yard attempt he nailed, giving Colorado State the early lead. The next time he was called upon, the Rams trailed, 17-16. The drive that set up his 48-yard kick was telling in just how much confidence McElwain has in the young man.

"They went through some breathing techniques with him before the game, but, you know, let him kick," McPeek said. "He went out there, took his steps the way he does it in practice, did everything the same way he did it in practice and just nailed it.

Colorado State started at its own 17, but after crossing midfield, the Rams went exclusively with the run.

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Even on second-and-13 from the CU 34, the Rams kept running the ball, doing so with emergency tailback Joe Brown, a converted tight end. He ran again on third-and-13, and Roberts trotted out and calmly nailed the kick, the longest by a Ram since a 52-yarder by Jason Smith back in October of 2008 against Utah.

"He's very impressive," said McPeek, who picked up a scholarship the same day Roberts did. "What was it, a 49-yarder? In his first collegiate game. That's pretty impressive no matter who you are. He's got a lot of upside. That kid's pretty good."

A drive later, he hit from 32 yards for the final points of the game. The last time a CSU kicker had three field goals in a game was when Ben DeLine was 3-of-4 against UNLV in 2010.

"I came up to him after every field goal he made and said, 'clutch,'" quarterback Garrett Grayson said. "That's clutch what you just did. You put the team on your back and that was clutch. I looked him right in the eye and said this is what you deserve."

Roberts also handled the kickoff duties, with four of his six going for touchbacks.

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